Patient&#39;s gown



May 1, 1945.

A. E. BOETTCHER PATIENT S GOWN Filed Oct. 24, 1942 INVENTOR.

A-ITU RN EYS WITNESSES:

Patented May 1, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PATIENTS GOWN r 1 AnnaBoettcher, Winona, Application October 24, 1942, Serial No. 463,233.

1Claim. (01. 2-114) This invention relates to improvements in a patientsgown.

The object of the invention is to provide a gown of the characterdescribed so constructed that it can be readily put on and removed fromthem.-

tient while in bed; at the same time providing,

slits, arranged at certain positions, so that the patient can beproperly examined and injections made, as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment so constructedand arranged that it can be readily used in connection with aspecifically constructed hood for covering the head and neck of thewearer, and retained in position without fastening means. l

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and effectivegown having certain details of structure and combination of partshereinafter more fully described.

Referring then to the drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the patient bed with my improved gownthereon;

I Figure 2 is a front perspective view of gown with the sleeves in araised position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the improved hood,

l The herein illustrated preferred embodiment of this invention consistsof a body I of the improved gown provided with the neck band 2, havingan opening 3 extending therethrough and ter- .minating at 4 at the waistline. The gown has the usual sleeves 5 and 6 and cuffs "I, and 8. Theupper face of each sleeve is provided with slits, or openings, 9 and ID,held closed by zipper fastening. These openings, as shown, are sopositioned in respect to the arms of the wearer that the access may behad to either arm for injections or the like.

The body I of the gown is split at H, at one side, from the extremelower end l2 upwardly through the lower face of the sleeve 6, for itsentire length and through the cuff 8 to the point ,I3, and is closed bythe ordinary zipper 14. By this arrangement, it will be seen that thegown can be readily put on while the patient is in bed. Thisisaccomplished by releasing the zipper in the back, putting the gownover the head of the wearer, slipping the right arm in the sleeve 5while the head is passed through the opening 3, which has beenpreviously opened. The front and back portions of the gown are drawnover the body of the patient, and over the left arm, and the zippersclosed to completely cover the body and arms.

The hood I5 is composed of the head portion tents to control thetemperature therein, Sometimes temperatures below degrees F. arerequired and, since many if not most of the patients so treated areextremely ill, exposure of their bodies to the low temperatures anddrafts would be particularly injurious. Moreover, experience has shownthat they often attempt to remove head and body coverings to their owninjury. The present invention is designed not only to facilitate care ofsuch patients but also to prevent them from removing the hood and gown.To this I end all fastenings are made as inaccessible to the patient aspossible consistent with the necessary care and treatment'by the doctor,nurse or other attendant. By locating the main openings 3 and l I wherethey are most inaccessible to thepatient and also by providing for theclosure of these openings by slide fasteners, the slide portion of whichmay be located at an end of the opening where it is most inaccessible tothe patient, I meet the special requirements of a gown for this use."The hood opening I9 is also rendered inaccessible by extending it fromapoint above the forehead down the back of the head and cervicalportions to the lower edge ofthe apron portion I8 at the middle of theback. Slide fasteners so located have the further advantage over buttonsand other spaced fastenings of being continuous and uninterrupted, thusafiording maximum protection to the patient against the cold drafts ofair.

My location of the sleeve openings 9 and I0 is particularly important asis the fact that these openings are short and therefore cannot be usedto expose a large area of the patients body even though the patientshould find them and move the slide fasteners to open position. Theseopenings are sometimes used for long periods of time as in the giving ofintravenous fluids or transfusions, or briefly for the taking of bloodpressure recordings or administering parenteral medications. It issometimes necessary to use them during the period when other examinationor treatment rethe upwardly from approximately the waistline to I saidneck opening and a slide fastener for closing said opening, said frontand back being perma 15 H nently secured together at the shoulders;sleeves permanently connected at their inner ends to said front andback, the body of said gown having an opening extending the full lengththereof along one side only of said gown and the sleeve on said one sideof said gown having an opening on the underside thereof extending thefull length of said sleeve; 3, single slide fastener arranged to closesaid gown opening and said sleeve opening, each of "said :sleeves'havinglaslit 'in the upper side thereof terminating short of theshoulder ofthe gown and also terminating short of the outer end of the sleeve; anda slide fastener arranged to close 'the slit in each of said sleeves.

